"I don't like Mondays” - Brenda Spencer.

On January 29, 1979, sixteen-year-old Brenda Spencer opened fire on ClevelandElementary School in San Diego, California, killing two school employees and woundingeight children and a police officer. When asked why she'd committed such a horrific act,Brenda gave an answer that would become infamous: "I don't like Mondays."But was there more behind those chilling words?In this updated episode of Once Upon a Crime, we revisit one of America's earliest high-profile school shootings and examine the troubled teenager behind the crime. We'llexplore Brenda's childhood, family relationships, psychological struggles, and thewarning signs that preceded the attack.Nearly five decades later, Brenda remains behind bars. We'll look at her changingexplanations for the shooting, her claims of childhood trauma, and her repeated parole of14 15denials—including her most recent hearing in 2025. Has she ever demonstratedgenuine remorse or fully accepted responsibility for her actions?We'll also explore a disturbing question: Did Brenda Spencer's crime help establish apattern for the epidemic of school shootings that continues in America today?From the role of media attention to the psychology of copycat killers, we examine thelegacy of a crime that shocked the nation long before Columbine.Listen to the Original EpisodeThis case was first featured on Once Upon a Crime in July 2016, during our inauguralseason.Season 1, Episode 8: Killer Kids, Chapter 3 – Brenda Spencerhttps://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s1-ep8-killer-kids-chapter-3-brenda-spencer/Sources and Further Reading• San Diego County District Attorney's Office – Brenda Spencer Denied Parole(February 21, 2025)https://www.sdcda.org/Office/newsroom/GetNewsroomFile?UID=75bec742-da77-491d-af19-b1fbcef5c946• Times of San Diego – Brenda Spencer, "I Don't Like Mondays" School Shooter, AgainDenied Parole (February 21, 2025)https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2025/02/21/brenda-spencer-i-dont-like-mondays-school-shooter-again-denied-parole/• California Board of Parole Hearings – Brenda Spencer Parole Hearing Transcript(September 7, 2016)https://schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Spencer-Parole-Hearing-2016.pdf• Eric Hart – Does Anyone Like Mondays? The Brenda Spencer Murder Case. Anexamination of Brenda's background, family relationships, and possible motivations,based on interviews with people who knew her.• Adam Lankford and Jason R. Silva – Research on similarities between copycat massshooters and their role models (2024)https://